Most developers have never used a screen reader. That's understandable — screen readers have steep learning curves and unfamiliar interfaces. But even 15 minutes of testing with a screen reader reveals accessibility issues that no automated tool can catch. Here's how to get started without the overwhelm.
Which screen reader to use
On Mac, VoiceOver is built in — press Cmd+F5 to toggle it on. On Windows, download NVDA (free) from nvaccess.org. On mobile, both iOS VoiceOver and Android TalkBack are built into the OS. For a quick test, VoiceOver on Mac is the lowest-friction option since there's nothing to install.
The 5-minute test
With VoiceOver on (Cmd+F5 on Mac), use VO+Right Arrow (Control+Option+Right Arrow) to move through your page element by element. Listen for: Does the page title make sense? Can you understand the navigation without seeing it? Do images have descriptions? Do buttons and links announce their purpose? Can you tell what form fields are for?
Next, press VO+U to open the Rotor — this shows headings, links, landmarks, and form controls on the page. Are the headings in logical order (h1, h2, h3)? Do link texts make sense out of context? Are form fields labeled?
Common surprises
The first time developers test with a screen reader, they're often shocked by how broken their sites are. Buttons that say 'click here' or just 'submit'. Images announced as 'image_2847.jpg'. Custom dropdowns that are completely invisible. Modal dialogs that trap keyboard focus — or worse, don't trap it, letting users tab behind the modal into content they can't see.
These are the issues that automated tools flag as warnings but that hit different when you hear them spoken aloud. The combination of automated scanning (xsbl catches the structural issues) plus periodic screen reader testing (you catch the contextual issues) covers the vast majority of accessibility problems.